


I hate football, but I love you

by BunnyPie



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Football, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:25:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9331427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyPie/pseuds/BunnyPie
Summary: Harry sees Niall while waiting on his bestie to finish footie practice.





	1. Take a picture, it'll last longer, mate

Harry sat on the bleachers watching his best friend, Louis, block goal after goal. It was Friday afternoon and his sister, Gemma couldn’t pick him up so he was forced to wait for Louis to finish footie practice so he could get a lift home. Louis lived two houses away from Harry and usually drove Harry home when he didn’t have practice after school. Harry hated sports, not just because he was terrible at it with his long limbs and poor coordination, but he just didn’t see the point of it. Why would he even want to run around kicking a ball for hours? He’d rather just cuddle up in a warm blanket and read a book. The only thing that made spending his Friday afternoon watching football bearable was the fit blond on Louis’ team who managed to score the last two goals. He was lean and toned and though he was too far away for Harry to see his face clearly, Harry pictured it to be just as perfect as the rest of him.  
After practice and a quick shower, Louis walked over to the bleachers where he was waiting. Harry was so engrossed in his book that he didn’t even notice his best friend until Louis was almost in front of him. When he looked up he may or may not have forgotten how to breathe because walking next to Louis was the blond and his face was even more handsome than Harry had pictured. He had cerulean eyes that reminded Harry of his favourite place – the ocean – and smooth pale skin and Harry couldn’t stop staring at this beautiful boy standing in front of him.  
“Oi! Take a picture, it’ll last longer, mate. ” sniggered Louis and Harry was sure he turned as red as a beet, feeling his face heat up under Louis knowing gaze while the blond just smiled politely.  
“Harry, this is Niall. Niall, this is Harry. I usually give him a lift home after practice” said Louis since Harry’s brain still could form a coherent sentence.  
“Nice to meet you! What book are you reading? You were so lost in it that you didn’t even hear us shouting your name from across the field” said the blond in a sexy Irish accent that turned Harry’s brain into a puddle once again. Harry just nodded and held the book up for Niall to see, not trusting his voice right now.  
“Alright, we’re burning daylight here! I’ve finally gotten Eleanor to go out with me and I’ve got to get ready! Come on let’s get going!” exclaimed Louis impatiently.  
Harry suddenly got to his feet, body operating on auto-pilot, and followed Niall and Louis to Old Faithful, Louis’s old blue Toyota, which surely had seen better days. Niall called shotgun and hopped in the front leaving Harry to cram his long legs in the back while Louis coaxed Old Faithful to life. Harry remained silent the entire journey while Niall and Louis chatted about footie training and an upcoming match they would be playing against the rival school in the next town. He was happy just being near Niall and listening to his voice. The car stopped about five houses before Harry’s and Niall got out, thanking Louis and saying a quick goodbye to Harry before walking to his door. Harry was amazed that Niall had lived so close to him all this time and today was the first time he’d even seen the other boy. He guesses that it shouldn’t be too surprising since he doesn’t spend a lot of time outside anyway but he definitely would have made more of an effort to if he had known a beautiful blond lived a few houses away.  
Louis looks at him in the rear-view mirror with a knowing smirk, “So Blondie huh?”  
Harry, now that his brain is functioning again, smoothly changes the subject knowing that telling Louis about his little crush on Niall would lead to relentless teasing, “So where are you taking Eleanor?”  
They stop in front of Harry’s and Louis tells him he’s planning to take Eleanor to a little Italian restaurant in the city centre followed by a night of ice skating and then maybe an ice cream stop depending on how late she can stay out. As Harry is getting out of the car and shutting the door, Louis tells him, “The lads and I are going to a party tomorrow at Liam’s house. You should come. Niall will be there.” With that he drives away not bothering to find out if Harry even wants to go or tell him who Liam is.


	2. Liam's Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to Liam's party hoping to spend some time with Niall.

As it turns out, Liam was the captain of the football team and Harry definitely wanted to go to this party. As much as Harry told himself that the main reason he was going was because he was never invited to one before and wanted to see what the popular crowd did on Saturdays, he knew that was a lie and that the owner of a pair of cerulean eyes was the only reason he was sacrificing his Saturday night to go. His Saturdays were usually spent reading novels or writing. He was working on a play for his school’s annual production and he was hoping to use this piece when applying to the London School of Production and Film.

While Harry did not fit in with the popular crowd, he wasn't unpopular either. He was quite shy which made it difficult for him to open up to people and make friends. He also spoke at a snail’s pace and was often drowned out in conversations or frustrated people to no end taking his time to articulate his thoughts. He just faded into the background, a wallflower of sorts. His only other friend, apart from Louis, was Zayn. 

Zayn was an artist and had the temperament of one too. He’d have his good days where the raven-haired boy would hang out with Harry after school, working on their respective projects or watching films. Sometimes, however, he would disappear for days on end and be silent and brooding at school. During these times he created his best work. Harry had seen some of his paintings and they were vivid and stunning, transporting the beholder to another place and time – as the best paintings usually do. Zayn was working on several pieces to put on display for the school’s art exhibition at the end of the term so lately he’d been moodier than ever. 

As expected, Zayn was in one of his moods on Saturday so Harry’s pleas to accompany him to the party fell on deaf ears. Louis had texted him the details of the party the morning after his date with Eleanor and told him that he’d pick him up at 7 p.m. Harry had been on edge all afternoon since Louis would be the only other person he knew at the party and since Louis was a social butterfly, he’d probably ditch Harry with five minutes of getting to Liam’s. He was also nervous at the thought of seeing Niall again. Would Niall even remember him? Would his brain work tonight? Would Niall talk to him? He spent hours trying to figure out what to wear and what to do with his long chocolate curls. His little crush on Niall had turned him into a teenage girl overnight. Eventually he decided on his favourite pair of black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt with a deep neck which showed off his swallow tattoos just below his shoulders, a navy shirt that reminded him a bit of Niall’s eyes which he left unbuttoned and some brown boots. He had no time left to style his hair as Louis arrived 20 minutes earlier than planned to pick him up so he could pop over to Tesco and pick up some more drinks for the party. 

“Looking good Styles,” smirked Louis as Harry sank into the front seat with his book in hand, “Hoping to impress a certain Irish blond tonight?” 

Harry blushed sheepishly and avoided Louis knowing eyes. He asked about Louis’ date and that distracted his feathery-brown-haired best friend. Louis loved to meddle and considered himself a modern day Cupid of sorts. The utter romantic that he was, he believed in making grand gestures in the name of love. Eleanor would definitely have her hands full with Louis. 

\--- ~~ ---

By the time they turned up to Liam’s house the party was in full swing. Tesco had a sale on vodka and Louis may have gone a bit overboard with shopping, buying 6 bottles of vodka because they were half price. Harry hates the taste of alcohol so he just got a couple cans of coke. Liam’s house was about a 20 minute walk away from Harry’s house on the street where all the houses were tall and classy. Harry often ran through this street during his morning run to admire the beautiful houses. 

Inside Liam’s house was packed and people were spilling out into the garden at the back and by the pool. The house was just as stunning on the inside as Harry had pictured with elegant furniture and a decor that must have been professionally done. There were a couple of portraits hanging on the walls in beautiful dark wooden frames. Liam’s parents must either not know about this party or be thoroughly minted to allow a party like this in their home. 

Harry and Louis walked to the kitchen is search of the host. The kitchen counters were overflowing with various bottles of alcohol and snacks. After squeezing past a couple of people who were already drunk from the looks of it, they found Liam grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge.

“Liam!!!!!!! Great party, mate!! This is my best friend, Harry!” shouted Louis over the noise that seemed to emanate from everywhere.

“Nice to meet you, Harry! Help yourself to whatever you want to eat or drink. Hope you have a good time!’’ shouted Liam before he was pulled away by some guys, who Harry assumed were from the footie team, to play a game of ring of fire. 

“Nice to meet you too” murmured Harry but Liam was already out of earshot by then. 

As expected, Louis had disappeared about 5 minutes after, going in search of Eleanor, leaving Harry to his own devices. Harry walked around a bit spotting the occasional familiar face, most likely from one of his classes. He smiled or nodded his head as he looked around for a certain blond Irishman. It seemed like Niall didn’t turn up because there was no sign of him anywhere. Harry resigned himself to finding a relatively less crowded area with decent lighting so he could at least read his book since he was not interested in any of the drinking games taking place around the house or chatting with anyone there. He ended up on one of the benches at the end of the garden which was well lit with fairy lights and solar lights.

About a chapter in, he felt a hand of his shoulder as a too familiar Irish brogue broke his concentration, “Do you always read books at parties or is this one not wild enough for you?”

Harry’s heart quickened and suddenly his tummy was filled with butterflies the size of pterodactyls, “Umm…hello” drawled Harry “Usually don’t go to parties.” At least his brain was working this time and Niall had sought him out and spoken to him first. Niall who looked like an angel with his flaxen hair like a halo on his head and full pink lips that covered teeth encased in braces. He felt like fist pumping in the air when Niall sat beside him, shoulders and knees almost touching. It’s the small victories in life! 

“So Harry, what do you do for fun? Besides reading at parties of course!” smirked Niall. 

“I write” murmured Harry wishing he was more exciting or had something else to add to keep the conversation going. 

“What do you write? Poetry? Plays? Essays?”

“Mostly plays. Sometimes stories. ‘M working on the school play right now.”

Niall was about to say more when some girl from his Sociology class, maybe Barbara was her name, walked up to them and sat on Niall’s lap, pressing a kiss to his lips. 

“Why are you here with him Ni?” she pouted “Come back to the party with me! We’re playing drinking games.”

Niall shot Harry an apologetic look and gently pushed Barbara off his lap and stood up. 

“See yah around, ‘Arry” said before reluctantly being tugged away by Barbara. 

Harry’s heart tightened in his chest as he figured that Niall was already taken and not even gay to make matters worse. There was no point being here anymore. He looked around for Louis to let him know that he was leaving, and then headed home to heal his wounded heart with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice cream and maybe he'd bake some cookies too.


	3. Are your lips as soft as they look?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis meddles a bit.

“Do not think of Niall do not think of Niall do not think of Niall” Harry repeated like a mantra in his head during his morning run in his attempt to burn off the calories from the ice cream and cookies he had last night. So what if Niall was the only guy since Nick that he was this attracted to? Niall had a girlfriend so he had to forget about his stupid crush. 

“Must not think about Niall” Harry muttered to himself as he pushed himself for an extra mile. Maybe if he was exhausted he wouldn’t have the energy to think of the beautiful blond. He’d even changed his route so that he didn’t run past Niall’s house that morning, not that he expected Niall to even be up at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Better safe than sorry! 

After his run, he went home, showered and got changed. He had about 2 hours to work on his play before meeting up with Louis and Zayn for an afternoon of pizza and FIFA in Louis’ basement. His play was going according to scheduled and by next week he’d be able to submit it to the drama and literature teachers for review. It was still quite early in the academic year, it was only the beginning of the second term of their final year of high school and the play would be taking place a week before graduation at the end of the third term. But Harry hated being rushed and wanted to give the cast enough time to learn their lines and practice so that the show would go on without any mishaps. If he got the play done and edited by midterm, the actors could be cast and given their scripts during the Easter break so they would already know their lines by the time the third term started. Also, by finishing his bit early, he’d be able to focus on his assignments and exams. The London School of Production and Film was very competitive so he needed to do well in his A Level exams. 

\--- ~~ --- 

When Harry got to Louis’ house, one of his sisters let him in and he made his way downstairs to the basement. As always, the basement was dimly lit by a couple of lamps and the light from the TV. There were a couple of bean bag chairs and an old sofa around the TV and a little fridge in the corner. There were already shouts coming from the basement so Harry guessed Zayn must have come early and they started FIFA without him. 

Harry’s jaw dropped when he saw who the shouts were coming from. Liam and Niall were sat on the sofa playing while Louis sat on a bean bag sipping on some coke.

“You might want to check for drool, Harold” said Louis breaking him from his trance “Zayn is still in a mood so he’s not coming and since you already know these two I decided to invite them too!”

“Hey…ummm…sure” Harry mumbled feeling his cheeks heat up. He knew Louis’ explanation for inviting them was bullshit and that he was just trying to meddle. Louis’ been on the footie team since the second term of year 12 and now they’re in the second term of year 13 and never before had he invited Liam or Niall when Zayn bailed. Louis’ smirk also gave him away. 

The afternoon went better than expected. Liam was easy to get along with and seemed like a genuinely caring person and Harry soon became comfortable in his company. He tried to act normal with Niall but it was difficult to act normal when Harry’s mind refused to cooperate and he kept daydreaming about Niall’s lips, whether they were as soft as he pictured and whether Niall would prefer kissing him instead of that Barbara girl. Why wasn’t his stupid heart getting the message that Niall was off limits?! He tried to avoid Niall as much as possible for the rest of the evening which was pretty difficult since Niall made sure to sit near him all the time and always found something to ask Harry if he’s managed to ignore the blond for too long. 

When night came, Liam decided to go see his girlfriend Sophie, who lived about a 15 minute walk away from Louis, leaving Niall and Harry to walk home together. They walked in silence the short way to Harry’s after saying goodbye to Lou who winked at Harry before closing the door. As soon as they got to Harry’s yard Niall blurted out “Harry, did I do something to upset you? Are you mad at me?”

“N-no. ‘M just tired” stammered Harry because what could he really say? “I think you’re fit and I wonder if your lips are as soft as they look?” or “I have a stupid crush on you and I kinda want to snog your face off!” were not options. 

Niall didn’t seem convinced but didn’t ask any further questions. He just tugged on one of Harry’s curls and said he’d see him around and strolled off to his own house.


End file.
